Arlo #5
Moira blinked. “Thank you for knowing I don’t need to be involved in everything with Micah, and realizing that it was something Jace could handle.”
“Ah,” I said, though I didn’t think that was worthy of much thanks. “It just...seemed like Jace had a handle on things, was all. And I know he tries to fill the role of a true parent.”
“You’re so bad at accepting compliments,” Dom chuckled, still glued to his phone despite probably knowing I was frowning at him.
“Again, you were right to think that,” Moira said, her brow furrowing. “I pretty much did solo parenting for so long—”
“Because the rest of the family is chopped liver,” Dom said, his brow easing as something happily dinged from his phone.
Moira huffed. “I am not going to get weepy-eyed and vomit thanks all over the place to acknowledge the help I’m getting.”
“What, don’t want to do it again?” Dom asked with a grin, finally looking up, though I suspected he was measuring whether Moira would hit him rather than losing interest in his phone.
“That was...extenuating circumstances,” Moira said between clenched teeth.
“My point is, I’ve solo-parented for so long, I forget that Jace has every right and should get involved with Micah, whether the kid is doing something fun or needs to be.
..corrected.” “You, I have to deal with,” Moira said, jabbing a finger toward Dom without looking at him.
Her finger came around to jab at me. “But you...I expect better out of you.”
“I have said nothing,” I pointed out, giving myself away by hiding the smile I was fighting...and losing. “Although, considering I was closest to the hallway doors, I could repeat what you told Kayden.”
Her eyes went wide. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“What things?” Dom asked, his curiosity finally pulling him away from his phone.
Things that were remarkably similar to what Milo had been ‘whispering’ to Eli when they’d been leaving.
“Some things shouldn’t be heard by outsiders,” I said, watching as Moira let out a sigh. “And definitely not repeated.”
“You’re no fun,” Dom groaned in what I assumed to be defeat, which was confirmed when he threw up his hands. “I’ll never get you to tell me.”
“You will not,” I affirmed, snorting when he scowled.
“It’s always lame when someone can keep a secret, especially someone else’s,” Dom complained.
“I have to disagree,” Moira said, and I shook my head at her smugness.
As different as she and Mason seemed, it wasn’t hard to peel back the layers and see the similarities.
Both were adept at spotting things that typically went unnoticed.
Both found amusement in getting one over on the other, him through wits, and her through determination, but they weren’t picky; a win was a win.
That last bit worked in an athletic sense, but neither was a team player.
They worked well with others, but when it came to the responsibility and the credit, they preferred to do it solo.
It was fair to say most of the family was independent, to differing degrees.
We were close, but every one of us was happier to deal with things without interference.
..unless asked for...or someone decided their sibling needed help and stuck their nose into their business.
The exceptions were Micah, where we had all taken turns helping to raise him, though we had eased back a little with Jace in the picture, and trying to be the best dad he could be.
The other exception was Milo and Eli, who had lived their lives since meeting so entwined that we all wondered how they would allow others in.
That question was answered by them being together, so we didn’t need to mull over it.
“Ah,” I said, earning a look of confusion from Dom and Moira. “That would make a great deal more sense.”
“Arlo?” Moira asked quietly.
“Yes?”
“You’re doing that thing where you leave half the conversation you’re having with yourself in your head.”
“Oh,” I shook my head, clearing it to focus on the conversation.
I loved my family, but even they weren’t immune to my reluctance to share what was going on in my head sometimes.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust people. Well, I suppose it had something to do with trust, but I could never place where that mistrust existed in me, or why, not when it came to my family.
Then again, there were still some things that should be shared, natural reluctance or not.
“I was thinking about all of us, but Dom and I stuck out the most.”
Dom glanced at me, and his eyes swept over me. I could see him trying to make the comparison. “Like what?”
“You and I...” Was it right to bring up his past so openly? I glanced around, aware we were within earshot of dozens of people. I wasn’t comfortable putting his personal business on stage, even if it was my analysis of that business.
Dom huffed, rotating a finger in a clear sign to hurry up. “What about us?”
I relaxed slightly, though I still felt uncomfortable speaking so openly. “Both of us lost...quite a lot when we were younger.”
Dom’s nose wrinkled. “I think comparing the two of us is a little unfair…to you. My mom and dad dying is one thing, but—”
He trailed off, clearly uncomfortable as he shifted from one foot to the other. Moira’s face was stiffer than usual as she cocked a brow at Dom, but she said nothing. I repressed a sigh as I looked between them.
“There’s no need to act awkward,” I said softly, not going into detail.
There was a reason I didn’t freely share what happened in my childhood when even my siblings acted awkwardly at the subject being brought up.
“My point was that we both lost a great deal of security and safety when we were kids.”
Moira glanced my way and snorted. “Dom’s right, that’s downplaying things for you. I think you’d be more comparable to Jace.”
I thought about the few things I’d learned from the man about his childhood and nodded. “That...makes more sense.”
“Sorry,” she said, ducking her head. “You had a point.”
“My point was that for us, even Elijah, you and Mason to an extent, losing something so important makes things...different. It’s easier to see what we have and be grateful, knowing we could have so much worse.”
“So...Micah is ungrateful?”
I blinked. “No, though I suppose it could be put that way. I just meant that he’s had a solid family life, an odd family, but stable. There have been additions and changes, but nothing...subtracted.”
Dom snorted. “Kid lacks perspective.”
“Which I call a win,” I said with a smile.
“How do you figure?”
“I’ve heard people say every good parent wants better for their children than they had.”
Moira snorted. “Of course.”
“Then in thirteen years, you’ve managed that.
He lacks the perspective to understand what he has because he’s been given so much security and happiness.
I don’t believe a child needs to lose a parent, or.
..go through something similar in their childhood as Jace and I did,” I added to prevent them from bringing that back up.
“Maybe you could say his behavior is the product of an ungrateful brat. But I say it’s the behavior of a kid going through a lot, because we all remember being a teenager enough to remember how hard their life can be, but also because he’s comfortable.
A kid who’s willing to fight back is either dealing with a lot or comfortable enough to express themselves without fear of punishment. ”
Moira thought about that for a moment before shaking her head. “So he’s being a little asshole because he’s had a good life?”
“Because he feels he can express himself,” I said with a shrug. “It’s just a thought. I’m no expert.”
Moira glanced at the ceiling thoughtfully, clearly thinking of Jace and Micah.
“Then maybe...it is good Jace is dealing with him. We can say what we want about Mason’s relationship with him, but.
..between that and his time around us, he’s calmed down and has gained a little perspective.
And he’s always been good with Micah. Maybe my son needs to deal with someone who’s had a life that’s unimaginable to him, get some perspective from someone who won’t take his shit but knows enough about how to be hard and rough, actually to be kind. ”
“Could be worse,” Dom said with a shrug and grin. “Remember how much of a fucker I was at that age?”
Moira sighed. “I thought Mom would end up joining Dad with the gray hairs you and Mason gave her. Him because he was always getting into trouble, and you couldn’t stay out of a fight.
I’m pretty sure she wrote Mason off as a lost cause and is happy to leave Jace to deal with it,” Moira said with a laugh.
“My brother and my ex...that’s still weird as hell to think about, but I also know both of them really well, so I don’t know which one to feel the most sympathy for. ”
All three of us glanced at the bar, and Mason, hunched over, his phone in hand, tapping away, made me smile. “I can’t be sure, but I’d say he’s checking in on Jace.”
“Checking if Micah is alive?” Moira asked wryly and then sighed. “No, he’s being a big softy and making sure Jace is okay.”
“You think?” Dom wondered, cocking his head.
“Are you questioning whether I know Mason that well?” Moira scoffed.
It was more than that, but I kept my mouth shut not to embarrass her. Moira presented herself as a reasonable, practical person who wasn’t prone to relying on emotions. Yet she was like Mason in that. I was delighted when the phrase ‘emotional intelligence’ entered the scene recently.
Emotional intelligence was precisely what people like Moira and Mason had.
However, they didn’t have a lot of empathy, compared to people like Milo and Dom, who were empathetic but lacked the emotional intelligence to read it appropriately.
Of my siblings, only Eli seemed to possess both, though it was harder to detect because of how subtle he could be, unlike his partner in crime, who could be read as easily as a toddler’s book.
“She knows him better than anyone,” I affirmed.
Dom glanced at Moira with a grin. “Think we should go find out?”
“Really? As if we don’t have enough drama going on?”
“You’re really going to pass up the chance to rag on Mason?”
Moira’s expression froze, and then she grimaced. “Damn it, you’re right. That would be stupid.”
I smiled. “Even Mason would admit it would be stupid to pass up a prime opportunity to get him good.”
Dom grinned. “Wanna help?”
“I’m not sure what good I would be,” I said.
“Are you kidding?” Moira scoffed. “He’ll smell Dom’s bullshit a mile away, and he’ll...sense I’m up to something.”
“Twins,” Dom said, giving her a cheeky grin.
“Shut up,” she said. “It’s not some mystical sharing a womb bond.”
“Right, sure. Because we haven’t known you two for years or anything—”
“We’ve been together since before we left the womb.
Of course, we can read each other. It’s intuition.
And there’s nothing mystical or psychic about intuition.
It’s your mind noticing things you’re not because your brain can’t always be that cluttered.
His is just highly developed...especially with me.
His point,” Moira continued, giving Dom a dirty look to make sure he shut up. “Is that Mason won’t suspect you.”
“No one ever suspects you,” Dom said with a chuckle. “And don’t worry, we only need you to keep him distracted.”
“How?” I asked, warming to the idea a little. Jokes and gags weren’t typically my thing, but I had to admit that if anyone deserved to be pranked, it was Mason.
“I don’t know, don’t you two like to talk about clubs?” Moira asked.
“Which is still weird, you going to a club...and you never ask anyone along,” Dom said with a shake of his head.
“It’s...something I like to do,” I said with a shrug.
They were my siblings and loved me, but that didn’t mean they understood everything about me.
Clubs and parties weren’t necessarily my thing, but like visits with my family, they were a good contrast from my professional life.
..and perhaps my private life as well. Noise and life weren’t natural in the life I led, but they were important to have.
..in small doses anyway. It was hard to explain that to others, mainly because people had difficulty understanding it.
Which was why, with a smile and a shrug, I agreed to their plan. Love was something we should hold tight to for as long as we had it, because one day it, or you, would be gone.